A group of future engineers experienced university life before completing their GCSEs, during a specialist residential course dedicated to bridges and civil engineering.
Hosted by Kingston University in South West London, the Modern Structures course was organised by Smallpeice Trust and sponsored by the Rochester Bridge Trust, which also organised a hands-on activity to build a bridge large enough to walk across.
Nicola Parks, Director of Charitable Projects at the Rochester Bridge Trust, said: “The students experienced three days immersed in a vibrant STEM community, taking part in hands-on learning, applying theory and finding out about the structure of bridges. It was particularly important for us to encourage more students to explore opportunities in engineering that wouldn’t necessarily be possible in their daily lives.”
The course included a range of interactive lectures, an introduction to modelling software, and a number of group activities, such as the Rochester Bridge Trust’s bridge building challenge. This saw the young people allocated different engineering roles to build a 10m long bridge large enough for the students to walk across.
Afterwards, the students said they especially enjoyed the physical bridge building and the opportunity to meet other people with similar interests.
Rochester Bridge Trust also makes STEM funding available to aspiring engineers through its engineering scholarships which provide opportunities, funding and other support for both the student and their school.
These scholarships open for application later in the academic year. Visit www.rbt.org.uk/scholarships for more information.
